Yo,
Been lurking these forums here since last year...I live in Michigan, got a new home, came with a 30,000+ gallon in-ground pool! I think I did OK with it last year, had a few clarity issues, but eventually I got my chemistry down (still need that tester kit). Pool store checks for free so I just take my water there and they say it's good, keep a record of it, etc... Had a service come in to open/close it for me.
Anyways, I have some questions now that I get to run a pool for my 1st entire season:
1. I think my main drain was clogged at one point... when I had the pool inspected before I bought the place, I swear it worked no issues when he showed me. When I got the place, we did a ton of landscaping. After, I couldn't get flow from main drain only. So I said bah, I'll fix it next year and ran skimmer only for ~1 month.
2. Come this year, I tried to tackle the issue. I have a jandy valve and turned to main drain only, filled pump with like 12+ gallons of pool water, started back up, got some flow. Then, (I think this may be bad), but I'm getting some air in my line somewhere - every time I turn off system, water came rushing out of skimmer (because I was running skimmer only). So, what I did was I run skimmer only for about 10 minutes, switch to main drain with jandy valve and shut off pump quickly, and because of the back pressure, I ran to the pool and saw water/bubble coming out of main drain. Now, I get a lot more flow coming from main drain only, but not enough to fill pump / keep prime. I did one time, but will try again tonight. Might try a drain king if needed (do I have to go past the jandy valve?).
3. I'll check my o-ring seal on pump basket lid and re-teflon tape the drain plugs on the pump.
4. Backwashing - I did it once/twice last year. I have a huge commercial sand filter. Not sure what the EXACT or recommended procedure is - I've read/been recommended a couple ways. Therefore, can someone provide me a good procedure??
5. Starting the pump - I have no issues starting with skimmer only, just main drain atm - any other parts to the procedure I should know? I think I just learned that I should have the air relief valve open on the filter when starting, never usually did lol! I might be doing it wrong because I do get some air this year even skimmer only...I know it could be the pluming on the suction side. Then again it could be anything causing a leak, I just wanted to mention this.
Sorry for the long winded post, but there is a lot to know and learn about pool life! I'll add pictures later when I get home, but any comments and/or feedback is welcomed. I'm an engineer so I should be able to understand most of the things you guys throw at me.
Late,
Nick
Been lurking these forums here since last year...I live in Michigan, got a new home, came with a 30,000+ gallon in-ground pool! I think I did OK with it last year, had a few clarity issues, but eventually I got my chemistry down (still need that tester kit). Pool store checks for free so I just take my water there and they say it's good, keep a record of it, etc... Had a service come in to open/close it for me.
Anyways, I have some questions now that I get to run a pool for my 1st entire season:
1. I think my main drain was clogged at one point... when I had the pool inspected before I bought the place, I swear it worked no issues when he showed me. When I got the place, we did a ton of landscaping. After, I couldn't get flow from main drain only. So I said bah, I'll fix it next year and ran skimmer only for ~1 month.
2. Come this year, I tried to tackle the issue. I have a jandy valve and turned to main drain only, filled pump with like 12+ gallons of pool water, started back up, got some flow. Then, (I think this may be bad), but I'm getting some air in my line somewhere - every time I turn off system, water came rushing out of skimmer (because I was running skimmer only). So, what I did was I run skimmer only for about 10 minutes, switch to main drain with jandy valve and shut off pump quickly, and because of the back pressure, I ran to the pool and saw water/bubble coming out of main drain. Now, I get a lot more flow coming from main drain only, but not enough to fill pump / keep prime. I did one time, but will try again tonight. Might try a drain king if needed (do I have to go past the jandy valve?).
3. I'll check my o-ring seal on pump basket lid and re-teflon tape the drain plugs on the pump.
4. Backwashing - I did it once/twice last year. I have a huge commercial sand filter. Not sure what the EXACT or recommended procedure is - I've read/been recommended a couple ways. Therefore, can someone provide me a good procedure??
5. Starting the pump - I have no issues starting with skimmer only, just main drain atm - any other parts to the procedure I should know? I think I just learned that I should have the air relief valve open on the filter when starting, never usually did lol! I might be doing it wrong because I do get some air this year even skimmer only...I know it could be the pluming on the suction side. Then again it could be anything causing a leak, I just wanted to mention this.
Sorry for the long winded post, but there is a lot to know and learn about pool life! I'll add pictures later when I get home, but any comments and/or feedback is welcomed. I'm an engineer so I should be able to understand most of the things you guys throw at me.
Late,
Nick